Doncaster RLFC breeze past Midlands Hurricanes in cup opener

Tom Halliday raced in for a hat-trick of tries for the Championship newcomers as they put themselves in a good position to finish top of the three-strong group ahead of the visit of derby rivals Sheffield Eagles on Sunday.

The Dons suffered their only home defeat of last season against the Hurricanes but they never looked like being blown off course in a game which was played on the warm-up pitch at the stadium despite earlier hopes that it would be played inside the main stadium.

As well as seeing his side score seven tries, head coach Richard Horne will have been delighted to see them concede just one a week after Super League Hull FC put 40 points past them in their pre-season friendly.

The Dons had to settle for a 10-0 interval lead, Halliday and scrum-half Connor Robinson both touching down with the half-back kicking the first of his six goals.

But they pulled well clear in a one-sided first second with Halliday bagging a brace and forwards Jose Kenga and new signing Pauli Pauli, who both started on the bench, also touching down as did half-back Ben Johnston.

The Dons had six close-season signings making their competitive debut for the club, three former Super League players in the backs and three more in the forwards.

Dons: Hall, Briscoe, Hey, Lyne, Halliday, Johnston, Robinson, Matagi, Boas, Knowles, Smeaton, Sutcliffe, McConnell. Subs: Holdstock, Pauli, Kenga, Tali. 18th man. Ferres.